May 4-May 10, 2006
The West County News, Commerce and Community, Shelburne, Mass.
Dancing Star Farms: Natural Food Company Projects Record Sales
by Cameron Graves

Buckland resident Michael Garfield-Wright, newly elected the president of the Shelburne Falls Area Business Association is also the entrepreneur behind Dancing Star Farms, which makes and sells all-natural snack foods. The company is expecting to make $2 million in gross sales this year. That would be the highest earnings in the company’s 12-year history, equal to 500,000 pounds of the company’s products.

“My business basically starting with McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls and Green Field’s Market in Greenfield,” said Garfield-Wright. “Those were my first two accounts. That year, probably 90 percent of my business was with coops, and I expanded from there. Now, a lot of my business and products are made on the West Coast and in Canada, but I also make some at New England Natural Bakers in Greenfield. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s probably one-tenth of my business now.”

Dancing Star Farms products are also sold locally at Foster’s Super Market in Greenfield and Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters shops. The main products made and sold by Dancing Star Farms are called “Chunks of Energy.” Available in 11 flavors, the chunks pack nutritious natural foods together in small cubes.

One of the first flavors made is still the company’s top-selling variety: Carob Spirulina. Garfield-Wright described carob as a “chocolate substitute” and said that spirulina, also known as blue-green algae, is a complete protein containing all essential amino acids and more Vitamin B-12 than any other food. It is also highly regarded for its high concentration of antioxidants, which eliminate free radicals considered responsible for impairing the immune system and damaging skin and muscle tissue.

The second best-selling variety is Mixed Berry Blast, followed by High-Country G.O.R.P. and Honey Pistachio. Flavors like Chocolate Almond Chip and Vanilla Almond are made with almond butter, so they are safe for those allergic to peanut products. Carob Ginseng is not only peanut-free, but goes one step further by being 100 percent raw, to accommodate people on raw food diets. IN the next couple of months, three 100 percent organic varieties (Maple Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Orange, and 18 Carob Supergreens) will also be available.

Garfield-Wright started out with just two Chunks of Energy flavors and earned $25,000 in sales in 1994, which translating into selling 5,000 pounds of product in 15 stores. Last year his sales wee $1.2 million, or more than 300,000 pounds of product distributed in almost 2,000 stores. (In addition to Chunks of Energy, Dancing Star Farms makes Green Spirit Life Bars, chewy snacks that contain 12 dried vegetables, whole apples, and 250 milligrams of spirulina each.)

Garfield-Wright attributes some of his success to dealing with five major natural-food corporations, which account for 80 percent of his business. These corporations include Whole Foods Market and United Natural Foods, Inc., which distributes his products from six of their warehouses. But in the end, it all comes down to the customers.

“What my philosophy has been is to put the product on sale,” said Garfield-Wright. “I believe in passing savings on to the customers, and the sales are really good marketing tools because people today tend to buy things that are on sale. So, I always run sales, 12 months a year. The other thing is I’m very generous with offering samples.” He also uses email testimonials from customers to develop or expand store accounts, especially in areas not covered by existing distributor routes.

Even before he started Dancing Star Farms, Garfield-Wright was no stranger to natural foods. In fact, he has been in the trade for the last 30 years. He grew up in Marblehead, MA, and graduated from the University of Illinois business, finance and marketing school in 1967 before spending five years as an arbitrage bond and stock trader on Wall Street. His family moved to West County in 1979.

Dancing Star Farms is a family-run business. While Michael conducts sales, his wife, Susan—who came up with company name from a Nietzsche quote, “One must embrace with chaos within to give birth to a dancing star”—takes care of the administrative side of the business. Their daughter, Leah, currently a sophomore at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, is considering working in the family business after graduation. Garfield-Wright mentioned that Dancing Star Farms’ product line may expand to include more non-dairy snacks and a cookie or cereal containing goji berries, or items that use cacai, a tropical fruit that has been gaining attention recently because it is very high in antioxidants.

“For me, business has been the best part of my life,” Garfield-Wright said. “It has given me opportunities to travel, have freedom, be creative, and help put my kids through college financially. I hope I can help motivate more people in West County to look at that as a career option. I plan in three or four years to explore of starting a Dancing Star Foundation for West County, and this foundation would be to encourage anybody who wants to do business in West County and help them.”